Patterns of below-ground plant interconnections established by means of arbuscular mycorrhizal networks

• The ability of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) networks originating from plants of different species, genera and families to become interconnected by means of hyphal anastomoses was assessed. • An in vivo two-dimensional experimental model system was used to reveal the occurrence of linkages between c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2004-10, Vol.164 (1), p.175-181
Main Authors: Giovannetti, Manuela, Sbrana, Cristiana, Avio, Luciano, Strani, Patrizia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allium porrum
anastomoses
anastomosis
carrots
cotton
Daucus carota
eggplants
extraradical mycorrhizal networks
Fungi
Genera
Glomus mosseae
Gossypium hirsutum
Hyphae
Lactuca sativa
leeks
lettuce
Microscopes
Mosses
Mycelium
Mycorrhizal fungi
nuclear exchange
plant linkages
Plant roots
Plants
Solanum melongena
Symbiosis
vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae
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Summary:• The ability of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) networks originating from plants of different species, genera and families to become interconnected by means of hyphal anastomoses was assessed. • An in vivo two-dimensional experimental model system was used to reveal the occurrence of linkages between contiguous mycorrhizal networks spreading from Allium porrum root systems and those originating from Daucus carota, Gossypium hirsutum, Lactua sativa, Solanum melongena, colonized by Glomus mosseae. • Percentages of hyphal contacts leading to anastomosis between extraradical networks originating from different plant species ranged from 44% in the pairing A. porrum-S. melongena to 49% in A. porrum-G. hirsutum. DAPI and Sytox stainings detected nuclei in the middle of fusion bridges connecting different mycorrhizal networks. • Present data suggest that, by means of anastomoses, AM fungal mycelium would potentially create an indefinitely large network interconnecting different plants in a community, and that, in the absence of sexual recombination, the intermingling of nuclei in extraradical mycelium may provide endless opportunities for the exchange of genetic material.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01145.x